NHTSA: ‘Choose the Right Seat’ for Children in Cars

New public service announcements and website encourage caregivers to learn how to select, install, and use the correct child safety seat

NHTSA announced the launch of new public service announcements (PSAs) to raise awareness about the importance of choosing the right child safety seat and making sure it is installed properly. The ads, released in partnership with the Ad Council, promote car seat safety among parents of children up to age 12. Data from the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show an estimated 8,959 lives were saved by child restraint systems from 1975 to 2008.

Working with the Ad Council as part of an ongoing campaign to ensure child car safety, NHTSA unveiled new PSAs this morning that will air on television, radio, online and in outdoor advertising nationwide. “The Right Seat” effort aims to make sure all parents and caregivers are properly securing children ages 12 and under in the right car restraint (rear-facing, forward-facing, booster, seat belt) for their age and size. Targeting parents and caregivers who already use car seats, the key message of the PSAs is to remind parents to “make sure their child is in the right car seat.”

Spanish-language PSAs on child seat safety will be released in early May 2012.

Coinciding with the release of the new PSAs, NHTSA is also launching “Parents Central,” a new one-stop-shop website with tools and resources for keeping children safe in and around cars.